Holy Thursday is coming up very soon. The Neocatechumenal Way celebrates Holy Thursday and Good Friday in a home. If the community have no priest, the Responsible is the one who washes the feet of the brothers and sisters of the community. If a priest is present, the priest washes the feet of the brothers and sisters. Yes, the priest in the Way also washes the feet of the women in the community. Since I have started walking in the Way, this was the practice. And today we have a Pope who for the first time has washed the feet of two young girls. One of the girls was not even Catholic. She was a Muslim. The Pope not only broke tradition, but the law of the Church. Last year, many Traditional Catholics oppose his action and are baffled by it. The Church's liturgical law holds that only men can participate in this rite, given that Jesus' Apostles were all male. And here we were in the Neocatechumenal Way washing the feet of women long before Pope Francis was elected Pope.....the Providence of God.
Many Traditional Catholics point to the Letter of the law. They fail to see the Pope following the Spirit of the Law.
If there is no priest present, then you do not have a mass. Hence, do with what you want anyways. Nothing new.
ReplyDeleteIf it were a Holy Thursday Mass being celebrated, you must adhere to the following according to the latest published directives in the Umatuna:
The Washing of the Feet During Mass–is to be done by the presiding priest in order to preserve the principal symbolism of the priest (representing Christ) acting in humble service to his Apostles. As such, no more than twelve pairs of feet should be washed. It is not permissible to have any mutual foot-washing, nor any sort of large communal hand/foot-washing during the Mass. Number 11 of the rubrics for Holy Thursday specifically indicates that men are to be chosen, as the representatives of the Apostles, to have their foot washed. The Latin usage of “viri” translates as “males.” Therefore, those to have their feet washed at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper are to be males.
This directive is signed by the Archbishop. Is disobedience in cue?
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteYou can tell that to the Pope who washed the feet of two young girls. After all, even the Pharisees had to tell Jesus about the law regarding work on the Sabbath Day.
You didn't answer if the service in the home is a mass. If not, go ahead and wash your pet iguana's feet too.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it is a mass, however, for you mentioned that a priest may not be present. As well, you do not have a Eucharistic liturgy as well. For without a priest, there is no Eucharist.
Your post may be much ado about nothing.
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteYou need to read my post. Where in my post did I say that it's a Mass in the home. I said we celebrate Holy Thursday and Good Friday in a home. It's a celebration. I said that in communities that don't have a priest, it is the Responsible who washes the feet of the brothers and sisters in the community. THAT alone should have indicate that there is no Mass because in order to have a Mass, one would need an ordained priest.
Nevertheless, we don't have a Eucharist in the home on Holy Thursday or Good Friday even if a priest is present. Some members in my community go to the parish Mass to have the Eucharist and then later go to the home for the celebration for Holy Thursday and Good Friday.
So if it is not a mass, then what was the point of this post? Do whatever you want, wash whomsoever feet you want to wash.
DeleteThere no liturgical correlation with what the Pope did and what you are describing what happens in the neo home on Holy Thursday.
Again, much ado about nothing.
Dear Anonymous,
DeleteIt's obvious that you missed the whole point of my post. My post had nothing to do with the Mass because the Mass wasn't even mention. It was about the law of the washing of the feet (Holy Thursday). The Church's liturgical law says that only men are to have their feet washed on Holy Thursday. The point was about the LAW and how some Traditonal Catholics criticized the Pope's action. See the weblink below.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/381781/popes-foot-wash-a-final-straw-for-traditionalists
The Pope was following the Spirit of the Law (which is the charity of Christ) rather than the letter of the Law, which some of the Traditional Catholics complain a lot about.
Your post is not even about liturgical law. What the neo do in their home has nothing to do with what the Pope did on Holy Thursday last year or what happens during mass.
DeleteYou are comparing apples to oranges.
It is obvious you do not know how to differentiate between private practices with liturgical practices.
You wash feet with no discretion in your own home outside of a liturgical mass . . . so what? Go for it, nobody is stopping you or criticizing you. It's your own business.
If what you described (washing female feet) happened in a mass, it would be illicit, whether or not the Pope did it for the plain fact that on Guam, the Archbishop has given a clear directive that only the feet of men are to be washed.
Thus, your post, yet again, is much ado about nothing.
Dear Anonymous,
DeletePlease read my post and comments before you make a comment. As anyone can read, I mentioned that the Church's liturgical law holds that only men can participate in this rite, given that Jesus' Apostles were all male. I also mentioned that Pope Francis was the first Pope to ever go against this rule by washing the feet of two young girls. I ended my post by mentioning the Letter of the Law as opposed to the Spirit of the Law.
As for the Archbishop, this is the Directive that he gave in the Umatuna (The Captalization is my emphasis).
12. The Washing of the Feet DURING MASS –is to be done by the presiding priest in order to preserve the principal symbolism of the priest (representing Christ) acting in humble service to his Apostles. As such, no more than twelve pairs of feet should be washed. It is not permissible to have any mutual foot-washing, nor any sort of large communal hand/foot-washing DURING THE MASS. Number 11 of the rubrics for Holy Thursday specifically indicates that men are to be chosen, as the representatives of the Apostles, to have their foot washed. The Latin usage of “viri” translates as “males.” Therefore, those to have their feet washed at the Mass of the Lord’s Supper are to be males.
Now, what did I just tell you?? Did I not say that our celebrations of Holy Thursday and Good Friday is NOT a mass???? So, why are you asking me about the Archbishop's directive and whether we are going to disobey it or not???? When I said that the celebration in the home on Holy Thursday is NOT a mass.....what part did you not comprehend??? So, why bring up the Archbishop's directives?
When you say that the The Neocatechumenal Way celebrates Holy Thursday and Good Friday in a home, does that mean that you don't attend Mass on Holy Thursday?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
DeleteIf you had read my comment, I DID say that many of the brothers in my community attend the Eucharist in the parish and then go to the home celebration.
The problem is you said this "And here we were in the Neocatechumenal Way washing the feet of women long before Pope Francis was elected Pope.....the Providence of God. " as though what you do in your own home is somehow comparable to what the pope did at Holy Thursday Mass.
ReplyDeleteIn any case, the pope is entitled to "break the Church's law" - you are not.
Excuse me.....There are some laws that cannot be broken even by the Pope. He cannot break the moral law or the teaching law. The whole point of my post was to follow the Spirit of the Law just as the NCW does. The NCW was also taught to follow the Spirit of the Law.
DeleteI posted a post in which shows a photo of Pope Francis washing the feet of a female. The Title of the post is Holy Thursday, which is about "washing the feet." I started out by telling how the Holy Thursday celebration is like in the NCW with women also having their feet washed.
The second paragraph then goes on to tell about the Pope washing the feet of women last year in Holy Thursday, which goes against Church law. I ended it by saying that what the Pope did was in accordance to the spirit of the law, which is the same reason the NCW does it. There are weblinks defending the Pope's actions because some of the Traditional Catholics are crticizing the Pope for not following the letter of the law.
This is what a Traditional Catholic who goes by the Letter of the Law would say:
A pope’s ignoring of a law is not an abrogation of the law but, especially where his action reverberated around the world, it seems to render the law moot. For the sake of good order, then, the Mandatum rubrics should be modified to permit the washing of women’s feet or, perhaps upon the advice of Scriptural and theological experts, the symbolism of apostolic ministry asserted by some to be contained in the rite should be articulated and the rule reiterated. What is not good is to leave a crystal clear law on the books but show no intention of expecting anyone to follow it. That damages the effectiveness of law across the board.
But people who follow the Spirit of the Law would say this:
I get the feeling everyone is so busy pigeonholing the Pope, scrutinizing everything he does or says, measuring him according to their preconceived notions on what and how he is supposed to be doing things, that they are hardening their hearts and not listening to what the Holy Spirit is doing or saying.
Tongue in cheek...basically you have "Jungle Rules" for the NCW but those outside must comply with Arch's directives especially the no woman rule.
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
DeleteNow that the Archbishop has made those directives, one would obey the Archbishop. In the past, the Archbishop did not make those directives, and members of the Way have been washing women's feet. It's only in the Parish Church that only men's feet are washed. We should be hearing from our Catechists soon regarding feet washing now that the directives was printed in the Umatuna.
Sorry you guys weren't the first to wash women's feet. My parish started back in 2000. Now per the Archbishop's directives no women's feet may be washed. So is he a law man now?
ReplyDeleteWhat is good for the goose is obviously not good for the gander, but that is to be expected.